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After taking the world by storm this year with tours across Europe, Asia and America, the With Confidence boys are back on home soil and are touring the country bigger and better than ever. Accompanied by Canadian pop-punk legends, Seaway,  and Adelaide locals Bearclaw Camp, Thursday night was one big pop punk party here in Adelaide.

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Photography by Ashleigh Law

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Kicking off the night was local 4-piece, Bearclaw Camp, who I was pumped to see after they unfortunately had to pull out of their recent show with Bukowski.  Boasting an entertaining stage presence and the sound to back it up, they played a whole bunch of tracks off their self-titled EP Bearclaw Camp, setting the bar high for the rest of the night.

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Photography by Ashleigh Law

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Next up were a slightly less local group, Seaway, who came all the way from Canada to put on one of the best pop-punk performances I’ve seen in a long time. Having never actually listened to these guys before (I know, it seems like a common occurrence from someone who’s meant to be a music reviewer), I’d heard nothing but great things about Seaway. From the moment they entered the stage playing Best Mistake, frontman Ryan Locke had the crowd hanging off his every word with the same full-on stage presence seen in vocalists like Patty Walters (As It Is) and John O’Callaghan (The Maine). Playing a plethora of tracks from throughout their six-year career including Shy Guys and Freak and Stubborn Love, the 5-piece absolutely smashed their Australian debut. Its clear to see why there was such a tremendous turnout for these pop-punk experts, with fans literally left begging for more.

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Photography by Ashleigh Law

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Headlining the show, obviously, was Sydney 4-piece-turned-5-piece, With Confidence. Unfortunately, due to a fractured wrist, frontman Jayden Seeley needed (quite literally) a hand playing bass from tour manager-turned-bassist, Scotty Mac.

The boys kicked off the set with an explosive performance of Voldemort, making it clear that they’ve definitely upped their game since their last Australian tour with ROAM in 2016. The set featured all of the best tracks from the Better Weather album, including personal favourite Dinner Bell, Higher, and Archers, while also indulgently taking a stroll down memory lane with some throwbacks like I Will Never Wait and Godzilla.

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Photography by Ashleigh Law

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I will never have a bad word to say about these four Sydneysiders. If you want to see a band that has worked their absolute asses off to make their dreams a reality, you’ll find it with With Confidence. To think that a bunch of guys that I met when they used to sleep on my sister’s lounge room floor (long live the Baj Mahal) after playing tiny shows in Adelaide are now touring the world with Hopeless Records is crazy. Every single song released by the alt pop punk crew from their debut EP Youth right up until Better Weather has been a certified banger. There aren’t many people who are more deserving of their success than these guys.

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Photography by Ashleigh Law

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After what felt like the shortest set of all time, the boys were called back on stage to the crowd screaming “With Con” or “Keeper” (nobody is really sure), to play two more songs, London Lights and Keeper.  Obviously, it wouldn’t be a With Confidence show if there wasn’t a London Lights circle pit, and Keeper is just a f***ing great track to sing your heart out to, thus creating the perfect encore pairing.

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Despite the fact that Jayden was injured, they all had the flu and Luke Rockets could barely see past his hair that loosely resembles Sia, the set that finished off the Adelaide leg of their Australia 2017 tour was a roaring success.

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AMNPLIFY – SP